


Unlucky 4

by derireo



Series: The Season Never Ends [1]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Aristocracy, Gen, Middle Ages, timeloop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26889811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derireo/pseuds/derireo
Summary: Sakuya can't help but feel that the number four circled on his makeshift calendar meant something.A young woman shows up in front of his home and shows him justwhatthat number indicated.
Series: The Season Never Ends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961848
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Unlucky 4

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE: Sunny _is_ Izumi! It is an alias (:

I blink my eyes open at the sound of a wooden cart strolling past my window. There were jars being carried away; I could tell by the clinking and clacking. They jostled at the same rhythm of the horse’s hooves kicking the dust, and if I was able to assume the correct time of day, this cart was supposed to be heading towards the apothecary just down the street.

There were always odd things being sent to that place, but I couldn't question the person who took care of the village here.

I sit up from my bed and wipe away the morning crystals that scratched at the skin around my eyes, body creaking as if I hadn’t moved in days. The small, handcrafted calendar I made for this month sat lonely on the pillow beside me, and I picked it up to check what the date was.

The weak parchment was frail in my fingers as it fluttered, forcing me to be gentle with it. Oddly enough, the paper looked worn-out for something that I had only made just a few days ago. 

My pink irises lazily trailed over the first row of crossed out numbers until it reached the fourth. The number four was circled over in red ink multiple times, signalling to me that something important was going to happen. What I found interesting was that I couldn’t seem to remember what the occasion was.

What could be so important on the fourth of April that required me to waste so much ink on some flimsy piece of parchment? 

There was no point dwelling on it now. I shake my head to clear the thought and slip the paper into my pocket after gently crossing the circle out. I needed to get ready before anything else if something _really was_ going to happen today. I trudge outside of my small one room home to step into the busy streets of the village, dust already covering my leather shoes as I shuffle towards the large basin that I left outside the night prior.

It should have collected enough rainwater, but the sun wasn’t kind today and evaporated more than what I had anticipated. 

I click my tongue in disappointment and crouch beside the wooden basin, dipping my trembling hands into the bone chilling water to wash my face and freshen my mouth from its sleep odour. My skin grows numb with each splash of water I give it and the body shivering sensation makes me fail to notice the bouncing figure heading my way.

I blow away the water droplets that threaten to spill in my mouth as I stare into the basin with wide doe eyes, and when I notice someone else staring into the water with me, I startle and stumble back. 

A young woman stands before me with large almond shaped eyes, her pupils looking as if they were in the shape of hearts. The golden specks in her irises complimented the soft brown of her eyes and it makes me hold my breath when she moves to crouch beside me, perfectly straight teeth making an appearance once she smiles. 

“You don’t have to act so surprised, Sakuya.” Her laughter is soft—soft and warm like those expensive blankets you buy at the artisan markets. It makes my face heat up.

I can’t help but notice the dress she has on, one worn for comfort and had a wide neckline to expose her collarbones and the white smock she wore underneath. The red dress had gold trimming and a belt curled snug around her waist to maintain her figure. Her voice caught my attention again, but not enough to keep my eyes from admiring how her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. She was quite pretty, but it was hard to believe that I was her friend.

I watch as she grabs one of my brown cloaks from the clothing line in front of my home and dons it with ease, as if she had done this many times before. A feeling of familiarity runs through me, but I don’t heed it. 

“Sunny.” This unfamiliar name rolls off my tongue like I’ve known her for quite some time already and I bite my tongue to silence myself. Unfortunately, my mouth opens again. “Did anybody see you—” She threw another cloak at my face to make sure I didn’t utter another word. 

“No. Now let’s go to that new tavern we were talking about last week.” Sunny changes the topic and helps me to my feet, pulling the cloak over my own head so that we can head off. I stumble around a little for my legs to regain their feeling, but I’m suddenly dragged away from the front of my home by the aristocrat before I can do anything else. 

The travel to the tavern was a blur, Sunny dragging me through shortcuts I’ve never seen before and pushing us into cramped hiding spots when someone she found suspicious would pass us by made it difficult to remember the path we took. I didn’t understand why she was making it so hard for us to reach our destination and when I asked, she chose to ignore me. She still sent a glare my way though, so I could only guess that her answer was ‘ _stop talking’._

Her bright disposition was gone, the smile she wore when we stood in front of my home now replaced with a cautious frown. 

Not knowing what’s going on makes my body run cold and I want to ask questions, but I know there is no point. There’s no point when it feels like the clock is ticking and the sound of our feet pounding against the ground makes my heart race as if we were being chased by something. The taste of the dust we kick up is bitter and dry in my mouth as someone calls for us, and just like earlier, Sunny drags me through an endless maze that I can’t seem to recognize.

We weaved through brown mud huts and town homes to lose whoever was tailing us, my calloused hand gripping onto her soft one to make sure we didn’t end up parting ways. 

“Don’t let them get to me, Sakuya.” She breathes into the wind as we round a corner, and just as I part my lips to promise her I won’t, a startled scream bursts out of Sunny when a pair of rugged, grimy faced men met us halfway. 

Before I can even blink, her hand is already ripped from mine as they take hold of her and snatch her away from me with ease, Sunny thrashing in their bulky hands as another pair of men come up from behind me and restrain me from chasing after them. 

“I am _INNOCENT_.” She wails into the dirty air and kicks her feet for one last fight as they walk further and further away from me. 

“Where are you taking her?!” I shout from the top of my lungs as their rough housing with Sunny tears at her cloak and I writhe in the grip of the men who grunted and pulled at me. Someone grabs my hair to keep me from struggling too much and I gasp, watching with panic flowing through my veins as the men disappear with Sunny. 

“A young duchess by the name of Izumi Tachibana escaped her manor today.” A voice utters darkly by my ear and it causes me to still. “The calendar marks that her hanging is scheduled on the fourth of April.”

I shake my head. “But her name is _Sunny_ —” 

“ _Her name_ is Izumi Tachibana.” They cut me off. “And her hanging is today.” 

My breathing grows heavy at this revelation and it makes me grow lightheaded. Fortunately, I lose consciousness before the men behind me could make it happen with their fists, and I am dropped to the ground. 

I blink my eyes open at the sound of a wooden cart strolling past my window. My mind is hazy as I fumble around for my calendar and get up with a groan, my head pulsing as if I had hit it while I was sleeping. I squint at the flimsy parchment while heading outside to wash my face at the basin, frowning at the way the number four was urgently circled with red ink.

I was just about to make a comment to myself about this when a woman approached me with a smile, her practiced hands yanking a cloak from my clothesline and donning it before I can identify her.

There’s joy in her eyes from what I can tell when she faces me again, but that happy expression falls when she sees the mini calendar in my hand, the four circled.

Her smile is gone, and she crouches down beside me. This feeling of familiarity running through my body is impossible to ignore as she stares with a hopeless look in her eyes and she reaches out to affectionately pet my mop of red hair. 

“You remember this time?” Her eyes go back to the calendar in my fingers and she lets her hand fall to trace patterns into the dust below us.

And really, after yesterday, or well, _today.._.whatever you wanted to call it; I don’t think I’d be able to forget any time soon. I nod at her question and take the other cloak that she held out for me, slipping it on with haste as she went back to stand.

I follow her when she takes a different route this time, continuing to be kept in the dark of what our plans were going to be this time around. I can still hear the echo of her shrill voice ringing in my ears, and I take a deep breath to calm my shaking heart. 

Her face is full of determination this time around as we head towards the village dock where many wooden boats line the shore, the fearful expression I remember from yesterday now gone. It was like she was telling me that she was tired of dying over and over again with no way out, and to be frank, I was getting tired of fainting. 

“You always forget every other day.” She muses, pulling me along the shoreline with a pouch full of gold coins rustling in her palm. “I won’t let that happen this time.” 

It sounded like a promise was being made to herself and I send her a curious side-eye. She notices and laughs; acting as if we weren’t actively trying to run away right now. We walk down the shoreline a little while longer until she finds a boat she likes and kindly waves one of the boatmen over. She pays him in silence, overcompensating him with a few more gold coins than needed.

“I’m going to do my darndest to stay alive until we find a way to change my fate.” _Izumi_ is calm unlike yesterday and it eases the anxious tremble in my blood, but not by much. I bite my lips anxiously and think back to how we were chased around the village yesterday, but Izumi’s voice brushes my worries away and replaces it with something akin to resolve.

After all, her death is caused by the disappearance of somebody else. 

“So, we better find my cowardly father who started this all.” 

**Author's Note:**

>  **context** : this is supposed to be part of a longer fic story that i wanted to do. the timeloop is something that izumi is stuck in, and she has to figure out how to break the timeloop or change her fate. i also wrote this fic for a creative writing assignment and had to change some things.
> 
> in my original fic idea, i was going to make sakuya witness izumi's death for the first time and then experience the timeloop and have him witness it _again_ but i'll keep that for the real thing.


End file.
